In this June 9, 2013, file photo provided by The Guardian Newspaper in London shows Edward Snowden, who worked as a contract employee at the National Security Agency, in Hong Kong. (AP Photo/The Guardian, Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras, File)

(Newser)
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Taking office may be a little tricky, but Edward Snowden still supported students at Glasgow University in Scotland who elected him their new rector. The NSA whistleblower said he was "humbled by ... this historic statement in defense of our shared values," the Guardian reports. Indeed, it was a symbolic vote that showed student support for Snowden's exposure of secret NSA documents. "We oppose mass surveillance and intrusion to our private lives" and "believe whistleblowers should be honored," said a student who helped nominate Snowden, the BBC reports. Snowden, still living undercover in Russia, approved the nomination through his lawyer.

Officially, Snowden will have duties like attending the school's court and bringing student concerns to the office of university management—but the 3-year position is all voluntary. Previous office-holders include Winnie Mandela and Israeli whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu, who revealed information about his country's nuclear weapons program in 1986. As for the Snowden vote, it was hardly close: He outpaced his nearest opponent, Scottish Episcopal clergyman Kelvin Holdsworth, by a difference of roughly 2 to 1. (For more Snowden news, see how he tricked a fellow NSA worker into giving him security clearance.)

Hey Glasgow U , you should have elected Fast Eddy as a RECTUM , not a Rector ! . Dream on Glasgow U , 'Big Brother's watching you too' .

iq145

Feb 18, 2014 10:37 PM CST

They would honour a man who has one what he's done? Who is this group, "Anonymous"? What has Special Ed done that's "wrong"?: 1) Theft 2) False credentials 3) Tampering with national security 4) Placing all Americans at risk 5) International flight 6) Traveling on a voided passport 7) Bartering with items/information he doesn't legally own nor has personally created 8) Terroristic threats 9) Unethical treatment toward his employer 10) Misrepresentation 11) Perjury/breach of oath 12) Dereliction of duty 13) Failure to follow orders. 14) Impersonation of known government officials/identity theft. He's also flirting with, in fact, trying to set up the two main offenses: A) Assisting foreign powers B) Aiding the enemy. Sure, the Constitution guarantees our freedom to share more information with the public, and the right to free speech is great... but NOT when it will cause a danger to National Security. The info Snowjob likely possesses is probably EXACTLY the kind of stuff al Qaeda wants leaked out so they can learn better of how to successfully find ways to kill Americans at will. Not to mention, maybe names and locations of counter-terrorism spies that the U.S. has out in the field infiltrating the ranks of those would-be murderers. People want to complain about the NSA and alleged "spying", but then they'll also complain about not feeling the government is doing enough to protect them from al Qaeda! The NSA is not "hiding" anything, but they'll be truly ineffective if EVERYONE knows what they're working on. Has NOBODY stopped for a moment and asked "why" the NSA has been doing what they're doing? Did people think the authorities use magic to uncover terrorist plots? Which would you prefer, spying on you or terrorism on you? http://www.newser.com/story/173411/eavesdropping-satellites-helped-us-catch-bin-laden.html http://www.newser.com/story/179175/fbi-worker-planned-suicide-bombing-of-wichita-airport.html http://yro.slashdot.org/story/13/08/29/1544210/snowden-spoofed-top-officials-identity-to-mine-nsa-secrets